No caffeine. That’s what Rodney Buford now seeks in his pre-game drink.

Buford, it’s no secret, disappointed big time in his month-and-a-half beginning with the Nets. His shot selection was something from a nightmare and his shooting percentage was even worse, barely above 30 percent. And it wasn’t like he was a lights-out defender.

There was even serious consideration about simply waiving Buford, who signed a one-year, $745,046 free agent deal over the summer. But Buford got a second chance. The Nets made the three-for-Vince Carter deal, there was an injury or two thrown in and the Nets were critically shorthanded. They needed Buford, and he responded: His last two games have been his best of the season as he shot 16-of-26 (.615) and scored 38 points, including a season-high 22 against Cleveland.

Buford points to a switch in his pre-game routine: he ditched a caffeine-laced energy drink.

“I stopped drinking them,” Buford explained. “It’s let me calm down and think on the court and not be so pent up. Every game I was drinking two or three (of them) and all it did was make you erratic and you think fast and you rush and you rush and you don’t really think. I’ve been feeling better. My heart hasn’t been beating as fast, I’m sleeping at night.”

That stuff sort of helps if you’re an athlete. Buford has been starting – that will end when Carter is ready – but if he plays anything close to the way he has been, there will be a role for him, although Frank is ever-cautious in his praise.

“It’s all about improvement and he’s getting better,” said Frank, who quickly stressed that Buford has to keep his surge alive. “He’s been great the last two games. He’s really stepped up. We can’t win those two games without him. He’s taking very good shots, getting good rhythm looks.”

Buford, 27, is with his fifth team in five years and admitted he came to New Jersey hoping to prove he is a legit NBA commodity. Richard Jefferson feels Buford has tried too hard and only recently let the game come to him. Buford, though, disagrees.

“I’ve started and been able to get in the game sooner,” Buford said. “And my body is warmer, looser.”